Internationally acclaimed environmental artist and conservationist Wyland is to paint the 95Th 'Whaling Wall' in his planned series of 100 mammoth marine life murals, Feb. 1-12 in Key Largo, Florida.The mural, the last Whaling Wall Wyland intends to paint in the United States, is to showcase North America’s only living contiguous barrier coral reef, which parallels the Keys.

The painting will majestically wrap around all four sides of a building located at mile marker 99.2 on U.S. Highway 1, and be visible to everyone driving into and out of the Florida Keys.

The top portion of this building will be painted bright yellow and orange, then the lower portions of the building will give an appearance of a deep reef.

“It’s my gift to the Florida Keys and all the great people who live and visit here,” said Wyland, a part-time Keys resident and avid diver.

Wyland is renowned for his life size murals as well as smaller paintings and sculptures that portray whales, dolphins, manatees, sea turtles, coral reef life and other ocean inhabitants. Wyland draws his ongoing inspiration from diving in the Keys and in other tropical waters.

“I’ve been diving in the Florida Keys for over 20 years, and this is some of the best diving in the world,” said Wyland. “The light and the pristine beauty, above and below, are represented in my paintings, my sculptures and even in my murals.”

For more than 25 years Wyland has used his art to increase awareness about the need to preserve and protect the world’s marine environment. In 1993 he established the Wyland Foundation, a publicly supported environmental education organization; in 1998, the United Nations declared him the official artist of the International Year of the Ocean.

The public was invited to visit the Key Largo mural site to watch Wyland paint, learn more about his environmental initiatives and view a comprehensive collection of his paintings and sculptures.Wyland hosted a dedication ceremony at the site on Monday, Feb. 12, 2007.